Turkey’s EU negotiations at the crossroads - by Brian Self

Following recent criticism by the United States that the European Union was pushing Turkey away from the bloc, the EU sought this week to reaffirm its commitment to Turkey’s accession by sending a high level delegation to Ankara, led by the EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. US concerns that the EU was rebuffing Turkey were first expressed by Defence Secretary Robert Gates five weeks ago, prompted also by Turkey’s breakdown in relations with Israel – a breakdown that together with Turkey’s political support for Iran’s nuclear ambitions suggested Turkey was leaning to the Arab and Islamic world. Gates told Reuters on a visit to London he personally thought if there was anything to the notion that Turkey was moving eastward, it was in his view, “In no small part because it was pushed, and pushed by some in Europe refusing to give Turkey the kind of organic link to the West that Turkey sought,” Over a week ago President Obama reiterated Gate’s message in a newspaper interview, saying Turkey could end up seeking alliances outside the West if the European Union keeps it dangling over its bid for membership.

Note EU-Digest: the question is not what the US says or wants, but rather how Turkey is meeting EU requirements for membership. For example on a key issue, Freedom of Speech, which Turkey keeps shoving under the carpet, we see that Turkey still has banned more websites than any other country in Europe, and ranks with countries like Iran and Burma. Google's hugely popular "YouTube" site has already been banned for two years in Turkey because of videos officials say have denigrated Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. And this is only the tip of the iceberg of the many unresolved problems.

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